MALA SANTA

"I've always kinda felt like a bit of an outsider," Becky G. tells Apple Music. Having initially broken out in 2014 with the multiplatinum English-language pop hit “Shower,” the 22-year-old Mexican-American singer now stands tall as one of the leading lights in música urbana. “I got introduced to the scene at a very young age and I dabbled in a bunch of different styles,” she says of the prolonged journey from being signed at 14 to the release of her debut album.

With MALA SANTA, an all-Spanish full-length with features from fellow urbano hitmakers like Darell and Farruko, the artist born Rebbeca Marie Gomez demonstrates not only what she’s learned over the years but who she’s grown up to become. “I wanted to make sure that it was a good reflection of who I am now as an artist,” she says of her approach to the album, which offers a range of reggaetón vibes, R&B emotions, and pop delights.

To that end, with the exception of singles like “Mayores” with Bad Bunny and “Cuando Te Besé" with Paulo Londra, Gomez recorded the majority of MALA SANTA in 2019 rather than mine her musical past. From dembow-driven dance-floor fillers “24/7” and “TE SUPERE” to more balladic moments like “EN MI CONTRA,” she presents herself unapologetically and unencumbered. “Now more than ever,” she says, “I really want to sing music that is a good representation of me and what I believe in, that I can share with my audience and other women to feel empowered as well.”

Part of that empowerment comes through clearest when Gomez is on her own. While team-ups are tremendously common in música urbana, she felt she owed it to herself and her fans to let her voice be heard on its own throughout MALA SANTA. “I think ‘PELEAS’ is special because it is just me by myself,” she says of one of her favorite cuts from the record. “I was very adamant, like, this has to be on the album.”